Musicians, behind the technological curve? Not when it comes to interface design: we’ve been consistently ahead. Little wonder, as digital musicians look for ways of making digital media more expressive, with centuries of physical interface design in musical instruments to push those demands further. In other words, Microsoft is up to something, and I look […]

For many of us, few movies can inspire sound design quite like Star Wars. From the clash of lightsabers to the screech of TIE Fighters to … well, seriously, the whole set of movies sounds damn fine, even if you skipped the whole film and put the sound effects on loop. On its 30th anniversary, […]

Is the Wii controller the new mouse? They’re starting to pop up all over the place, with all sorts of applications. As the villain in Pixar’s The Incredibles says at the end of the film, “When everyone’s super, no one is.” The related principle is, “When everyone has a gimmick, it’s not a gimmick any […]

For more information on Spacetime Fusion, check out the project’s website at University of Washington’s CS Departments page here. I’d say something witty, but I’m too stunned.

I must make a correction and clarification in regards to OSCulator, the Mac utility for connecting to Nintendo’s Wii remote, which I mentioned in today’s Deckadance story. Despite the name, it supports the broadly-available MIDI as well as (for programs like Max/MSP, Pd, Flash, Director, Traktor, Reaktor, Processing, and others) OpenSoundControl. Simon Balarbe writes us: […]

The Wii remote as music controller is gradually going from being a novelty to being standard equipment. Deckadance, the DJ software from Fruity Loops creators Image Line, has only just come out and already has its first update. 1.10 is a big jump. Updates to the Ms. Pinky SDK support means it can now support […]

Announced last night, Jitter 1.6.3 brings a slew of bug fixes and performance updates. Highlights include an updated jit.gl.model object that now works properly with exports from many major 3D apps with proper material file and texture imports, an updated jit.gl.slab object that has some performance improvements, and an active stereo rendering flag for jit.window. […]

The ARP 2500 This one actually just popped up for auction with a buy it now of $13,800. The 2500 was ARP’s first modular flagship and consisted of the 2003 synthesizer and 3003 keyboard controller. As mentioned in last week’s post, the ARP 2500 was also the synth played by ARP engineer Philip Dodds in […]

When it comes to scratching virtual vinyl using timecode-imprinted records, Linux users aren’t left entirely in the dark. Simon Balarabe points to xwax: xwax project page Don’t expect it to be Traktor for Linux — the software supports only basic playback options — but for that purpose, it looks reasonably capable. It supports playback of […]

The Purcell School of Music is host to a massive event for Theremin lovers near Watford, Hertfordshire, UK July 27 – 30. The weekend looks really epic: performances, workshops, and master classes on playing and building the instruments. On the bill: the awesomely talented Lydia Kavina on the Classical side, and raising the flag for […]